


Slip on the ice

by karasunotsubasa



Series: KageHina Week December 2014 [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, figure skating AU, tsukihinaguchi friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 05:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2761754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunotsubasa/pseuds/karasunotsubasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After watching Small Giant win the winter Olympics in figure skating one windy post-Christmas evening, Hinata decides on the path of his career. Sadly, his own strength isn't enough to let him compete at the same stage as his idol, and his manager, Suga-san, comes up with the greatest idea ever - it is time to get Hinata a partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slip on the ice

**Author's Note:**

> KageHina Week December 2014  
> day 7  
> prompt: universe

Hinata Shouyou was excited. Finally, _finally_ his gruelling work, all the effort he's put into training, all the bruises and scratches, all the slips and hard landings, finally everything started to pay off. He grinned brightly, the voice on the other end of the line dying down.

"Thank you for letting me know, Suga-san!" he almost screamed at his manager, the joy swelling in his chest. He wanted to let the whole world know about this. "I'll see you tomorrow at practice!"

His answer was only a short, benign laughter and a softly spoken, amused 'Until then' and the line disconnected. Shouyou clenched his fingers around the phone. He could still hardly believe it, but there was no mistake.

He was getting a partner. He'll finally be able to compete.

Nothing about his future competitions has been decided yet, but Shouyou believed with every ounce of himself that it would be true. So what if he couldn't achieve anything alone? So what if his skills weren't polished enough? So what if he wasn't good enough alone? If he had a partner... If only he had one...

And now he did.

His grin widened so much his cheeks started to hurt. It was really happening. A partner, huh... It would be a guy, and as much as it weirded Shouyou out at first, he got used to the idea pretty quickly. A partner was a partner after all, and with his small build it was somehow expected. For now, he couldn't care less about their sex, the important thing was only one - he was getting a partner. That was all.

Shouyou was never exceptional at anything he did. Be it schoolwork, crafts, house chores, sports. He was average at best, and all throughout middle school and early high school, he began to think it would continue like that for the rest of his life. But then, one snowy afternoon as he was coming back home from a friend's house, he's seen it. The one thing that would end up occupying his life, but making it so full in return.

Christmas has all but passed, but the red-green-white decorations still draped some of the window displays. He continued on his way as usual, admiring the people who chose this weather for leisurely shopping, until he came across the electronics department, with one of the biggest TVs he's ever seen in his short life standing on the windowsill, blasting the transmission of the winter Olympics through the slightly frozen glass.

Shouyou stopped, as the images blinked on the screen, mesmerized by the brightness and vividness of colours. It would be nice to have such a huge thing in the house, he thought. That new game he got for Christmas would look so cool if he used this to play it on. He sighed in bliss.

A cold gust of wind slashed through the small alleyway, and Shouyou shivered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. As he prepared to move on - one last glance couldn't hurt - the screen has changed to a dark clad form standing in the rink of ice. In spite of himself, Shouyou stayed in place, watching. The black and orange of the man's clothing was a stark contrast with the pale blue-white of the rink and Shouyou's breath caught in his throat as he waited expectantly for the beginning of his program. There was something... something he couldn't name that kept him curious and enchanted.

And then it started, the sharp slashes of the blades on ice, sending small chunks or ice here and there, the camera never missing any spin, any loop, any jump or landing. Shouyou stared at the screen, the violent, cold wind long forgotten, and his eyes shone with the reflection of the breathtaking triple axel. When the music died down, and the figure on the rink stopped, Shouyou felt lightheaded. It was strange, the feeling in his chest, it was as if for the first time ever he was full. Not with food, the way he was after he'd eaten his dinner and lazed off on the couch, but with something else. With emotions, with purpose, with a sense of want.

The man on the screen, Shouyou has later learned his artistic pseudonym was Small Giant, got perfect notes and was one of the few Japanese man to ever win at the Olympics. And from that moment on, from the moment his attention was captivated by the TV on the post-Christmas display, from the moment the music started to play, from the moment the Small Giant moved, Shouyou knew what it was he's been missing all this time. Passion.

It took him all of 3 weeks to convince his mother that he was dead set on becoming a figure skater. She thought it a phase, a strange one at that. What high school boy would get up as early as 5 am to drive a bike in the cold snow to the nearest ice rink and then proceed to fall on his hands and knees, sometimes even face - getting the blood out of his clothes was a nasty piece of work - as he tried to gain the balance on the borrowed, worn-out skates. She thought he'd get bored, discard it somewhere after a pretty bad fall.

But it didn't happen. And day by day, she had less rips in the clothes to sew in, and less scratches and bruises on her son's body to look after. After that, she couldn't say no any longer, and when Shouyou came to ask for his own skates, she promised to take him shopping after the next paycheck.   

It's been years since that day, and Shouyou could hardly remember the struggle to learn how to move on ice, now it was as simple as breathing. But the real problems started when it came to everything else - the actual figure skating itself.

Shouyou wasn't a prodigy, he worked hard on every motion, repeatedly performed the same movements, fell down, got up, over and over again. He knew that he couldn't do anything about pure talent, but there was one thing he refused to lose at. The thing that Small Giant showed him, the beauty and fierceness of passion. So whenever he failed a piece in his performance, he got up and did it again, and again, the fire in his chest burning through his limbs and giving him the strength he needed to go on.

But even though he tried his best, he still couldn't compete at the same level as Small Giant. International level was always slightly out of his reach, and underneath all the passion, the ugly seed of doubt and frustration started growing its thorns, slowly but persistently. Shouyou was 23 already, and it was high time for him to produce results, good results, if he ever wanted to compete at the same stage as his idol.

And now he had the chance.

It seemed as if ages have passed since Sugawara-san mentioned the possibility of forming a pair with one of the other skaters. At first Shouyou didn't even want to hear it, he could do it alone. No, it wasn't a case of could - he _wanted_ to do it alone. Like Small Giant did, a long solo program, at the winter Olympics.

But after all the failures, after all the times his gut clenched in envy, with the bitter taste of defeat on his tongue, he changed his mind. He couldn't do it alone. But he would do it, still. As long as he could stand on the same stage and feel the same chill of the ice, he would take on any partner and do it. For the sake of his dream.

As it turned out though, it was easier said than done. Sugawara-san knew a few people, so he asked around, but no one wanted to partner up with him. And whom could he fault for that? He was a nobody in the skating world, his own lack of talent hindering him more than ever. So what if he could be great with someone else? He'd never get the chance, if he doesn't raise the bar, if he doesn't get better. At any cost.

So he did, he tried everything. Practicing earlier, longer, more difficult, more demanding, more complex moves. Anything to get better, faster, stronger. And now he'd have a chance to prove his growth. Finally...

Finally he's got a partner.

Shouyou laughed out loud, the happiness too much to keep inside.

 

* * *

 

"What's gotten you in such high spirits?" the mocking voice from behind him made Hinata smile even wider, as he turned around to greet his friend.

"I've got a partner!" he exclaimed, with satisfaction noting the slight widening of the other's eyes.

"Congrats, Hinata, I knew you would make it!" Yamaguchi clapped him on the back and Shouyou only grinned up at him, his cheeks already starting to hurt from smiling.

It was Friday, the day when all three of them, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima and him, who were all friends from high school times, met up at the rink Shouyou trained at to catch up. They even tried skating together a few times, but it always ended with one of them falling on their butt and the other two laughing so hard they fell down soon after and the skating was done for the next few weeks, until the poor soul forgot about their embarrassment - it mostly happened to Tsukishima, which made Shouyou giggle all the more.

"Yeah, congrats," the mocking tone was back in Tsukishima's voice, but Shouyou noticed the sincerity in his eyes, and he smiled in thanks. It didn't last long, and his friend's glasses glistened. "It would be bad luck if your partner was a dick though. Like imagine that, all your hard work and then you don't get to win even one competition because of him. Wouldn't that suck."

"I'm sure it won't be like that," Shouyou waved a hand at him. "What can really go wrong? We might not click right away, but as long as we love skating, it should be fine, right?"

"But what if he doesn't?" Tsukishima continued. "What if he's one of these people who treat it only as a good way to easily earn money?"

"But he's gotta be good then, right?" Hinata shrugged. "Besides, no one can put that much effort into skating just for the money. It's not that great, really."

"If you say so..."

Shouyou thought he was done with the topic, but then Tsukishima continued after he sat on the bench next to him and started putting on his skates.

"But what if he's an ass and you can't handle his personality?"

"Like you're one to talk," Shouyou gave him a pointed look, and with pleasure noticed the corner of the blond's mouth rising in a tiny indication of his amusement. Yamaguchi giggled to his left.

"Touché," Tsukishima said, turning back to tying the laces.

"Oh, but what if he drops you mid-figure?" Yamaguchi turned to them, forgetting about his skates for a moment. "Wouldn't that be bad?"

"I guess... Shouyou replied slowly. "Why are you guys so bent on sucking out my happiness though?" he pouted. Nothing could dim his joy, but he expected his friends to share it, not turn him against his new partner.

Tsukishima put a hand on his shoulder, face serious, but Shouyou could see the mischievous light in his eyes. "We're just worried about our friend, is there anything wrong with that?"

Shouyou snorted. Tsukishima. Worried. About him.

"Let's just hope your partner is only one of those things, if any," Tsukishima said, standing up and walking to the rink. He slid onto the ice and swiftly turned to them, raising his voice just enough to be heard. "It'd be real bad if he was all three, you know."

This time Shouyou laughed out loud. "Come on, Tsukishima, people like that don't even exist, not in this world."

"Have you never heard of the King?" Tsukishima's face darkened with a smirk, and Shouyou suddenly felt trapped.

"Who?"

 

* * *

 

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. His stomach churned and Shouyou felt like vomiting, nausea reaching his mouth and throat, burning. He swallowed thickly, and took a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down.

"You don't have to be so nervous," his manager interjected with a small, reassuring smile. "You're going to hit it off right away, you'll see."

Shouyou tried to smile back, but it came off more like a grimace than anything else. He was about to meet the guy he'd spend - thinking positively - almost every second of the next few years with, and everything Tsukishima said a few days ago was coming back to him, even snider because this time it was the voice of his own conscience he heard, pointing to his flaws and fuelling his doubts. With a heavy heart Shouyou stepped into the stadium, the familiar chill of the air slightly soothing his nerves.

It wasn't the same placed he practiced at, and he looked around, his curiosity getting the best of him. It was almost empty, the early hours of the morning indicating that only fanatics would come to such a place at this hour. Hinata smiled a bit at the lone figure on the ice. His partner, finally.

Sugawara-san motioned for him to follow and Shouyou tore his eyes away from the person, only to walk a few steps still looking back, as if something compelled him to. He watched the skater speed up and shoot into a triple toe loop, the motion fluid and perfect. He held his breath and released it loudly when the other landed firmly on his foot, full of natural grace that Shouyou knew he could never even hope to copy.

"Wow..." he breathed out, forgetting about Sugawara who stopped a few feet away and was watching him with an indulgent smile.

"Amazing, isn't he?" the man asked, and Shouyou almost jumped out of his skin, and blushed in embarrassment at being caught slack-jawed.

"Yeah, he is," he admitted, looking back to the figure on the rink that now moved into a sequence of three loop jumps. He truly was incredible. Shouyou wondered if he'll ever be as good as that man. "And he's my partner?"

How could someone so amazing be his partner? It seemed impossible, and yet Sugawara smiled and nodded at him. Shouyou swallowed with difficulty, his nervousness coming back full force. He followed his manager obediently this time, too focused on keeping his breakfast down to look up at the rink again.

They finally got down to the ice level, and Shouyou noticed another figure inside, probably the coach. Sugawara walked up to him, exchanged a few words and then pointed to Shouyou.

"This is Hinata Shouyou, the one I told you about," and then he turned to Shouyou. "And this is Sawamura Daichi, your new partner's personal trainer and manager."

Dark brown eyes squinted at him in a friendly manner. "It's nice to meet you, Hinata-kun."

"Ah, likewise," he answered, bowing slightly.

The man looked amicable, but Shouyou couldn't focus on him much. Now that he was so close, his eyes kept turning after the black figure spinning madly on the ice. The speed, the grace, the motions...

He was perfect.

Then why was someone like him interested in pair skating? He didn't even realize that he voiced his question out loud.

"You'd have to ask him about that yourself," Sawamura said and turned to the man who was just now coming out of a quadruple jump, so sharp, Shouyou believed it could kill a man. "Hey, you workaholic! Come here and meet your new partner!"

The blades slashed the ice and Shouyou could feel his pulse quickening with every slide the man took. His breathing uneven, he tried to calm down, but couldn't. Finally, there was a grate of the ice as the skater stopped before them, and blue, dark blue, sinfully blue eyes looked into Shouyou's. They looked for something, searched every bit of him, and Shouyou could swear they could see into the depths of his soul.

But something in these eyes wasn't right. He frowned when the answer popped into his head. It was cold, hard loneliness, with a dose of fear and distrust, like an abused animal afraid to walk up to a stranger after its been beaten countless of times.

He didn't notice when Sawamura started speaking again, but he recognized his own name. He blinked and turned his attention to him.

"So, that's your new partner," Sawamura pointed towards the man. "His name is Kageyama Tobio."

Kageyama Tobio? Shouyou's brow furrowed in thought. Where did he hear that name before...?

And then he remembered. Everything Tsukishima said to him. The King. Kageyama Tobio was the King. And his new partner.

He was so fucked.

Shouyou didn't know if he should laugh at his sick luck or cry at the bright future that was no longer in sight.

He laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> so yup, this is the last one of kagehina week fics, I hope you enjoyed them ^u^


End file.
